TALKING POINTS FOR DDI SOUTH AFRICA: THE ANC'S COMMUNIST TIES

Document Type: 
Collection: 
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP91B00874R000100200015-4
Release Decision: 
RIPPUB
Original Classification: 
S
Document Page Count: 
3
Document Creation Date: 
December 22, 2016
Document Release Date: 
September 16, 2011
Sequence Number: 
15
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
July 14, 1986
Content Type: 
MISC
File: 
AttachmentSize
PDF icon CIA-RDP91B00874R000100200015-4.pdf103.39 KB
Body: 
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/16: CIA-RDP91 B00874R000100200015-4 TALKING POINTS FOR DDI South Africa: The ANC's Communist Ties We do not not believe at the present time that the African National Congress is dominated by Communists, although Communists in the ANC leadership exert considerable influence and the ANC depends on the Soviet Bloc for almost all of its military aid. The orientation of any future ANC-dominated government in South Africa would depend to a large degree on the means by which it came to power. The more violent and prolonged the struggle, the more likely, in our judgment, that the regime would be Marxist, pro-Soviet, and anti-Western. SACP and SACTU Influence in the ANC The ANC (formed in 1912) has had close ties with the South African Communist Party (formed in 1921) since the 1920s. -- The ANC worked closely with SACP-controlled groups during the civil disobedience campaigns of the 1950s. -- Most black Communists who had not already done so joined the ANC after the SACP was banned in 1950. The ANC opened its- ranks to all racial groups in 1969, at which time many white Communists joined. -- ANC-SACP bonds were strengthened when the ANC was banned in 1960 and forced into exile several years later. The SACP, more experienced at operating in exile and with wider international contacts, helped find sources of economic and military aid for the ANC. The SACP today is a pro-Soviet, semisecret party headquartered in London and well-represented in the ANC leadership. -- Although we cannot identify with full confidence all SACP members in the ANC, we estimate that Communists probably hold somewhat over half the seats on the ANC's National Executive Committee (NEC). The NEC, however, only meets several times a year. -- In our judgment, perhaps as much as 25 percent of the ANC's total membership is Communist.* The ANC's political manifesto--the 1955 Freedom Charter--is a mildly socialistic and deliberately vague document designed to attract the Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/16: CIA-RDP91 B00874R000100200015-4 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/16: CIA-RDP91 B00874R000100200015-4 -- SACP influence probably is strongest in the ANC's military and propaganda wings. Most ANC propaganda literature and radio broadcasts are virulently anti-Western and strongly pro-Soviet. -- Both Communist and non-Communist veteran ANC officials have worked for years to restrain a large group of young black, militant nationalists in lower ranks who prefer a hard-core terrorist campaign directed soley at white civilians. The SACP-controlled South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU) also acts as an ally of the ANC. SACTU, however, has little influence in the South African organized labor movement, and little hope of gaining any. -- SACTU was founded in 1954 and currently is operating in self-imposed exile in Zambia. SACTU acts as the ANC's labor wing, but is organizationally separate. -- SACTU is a member of the Soviet-controlled World Federation of Trade U:nions (WFTU), and almost all SACTU leaders are SACP members. Soviet Bloc Support to.the ANC The Soviet Bloc provides over 90 percent of the ANC's military needs, including virtually all ANC weapons and equipment. -- Most ANC guerrilla training is conducted by Cuban and East German military advisers at several camps in Angola. -- The best ANC military recruits also receive advanced training in the Soviet Union, East Germany, and Cuba. The Soviet Union also gives some nonmilitary assistance to the ANC, although other sources provide the bulk of this support. -- The Soviet Union and East European states provide some 200 scholarships a year for nonmilitary courses in the Soviet Bloc. -- Soviet-aligned Communist parties in other areas of the broadest possible coalition of multiracial, antiapartheid forces. Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/16: CIA-RDP91 B00874R000100200015-4 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/16: CIA-RDP91 B00874R000100200015-4 ANC Efforts to Limit Communist Influence Non-Communist ANC officials, led by President Oliver Tambo, have taken several steps aimed at limiting and controlling SACP influence in the ANC. In our judgment, these moves have had some success. -- Despite its rhetoric, the ANC has sought improved relations with China and the West. Tambo, for example, met with former President Carter in Zambia in January 1986. 25X1 25X1 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/16: CIA-RDP91 B00874R000100200015-4